Immunity
by PhunkyBrewster
Summary: "This, my love, is the Bed of Immunity," she declared proudly. The final companion piece to Wings and The Walk. One-shot.


**Warning: This one-shot is the final installment of a very unintentional 3-part series, which I have now dubbed "The Wings Series." It includes Wings and The Walk, which I would heavily suggest reading prior to commencing with this story. Of course, this can also be enjoyed on its own. Also, I do not own either of these characters. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>At 9:47 p.m. on a particularly monumental Tuesday evening, Mindy Lahiri arrived to a fairly life-altering conclusion: sushi was the absolute finest post-sex food. She couldn't understand why she hadn't come across this discovery sooner; she had often eaten sushi before or in lieu of sex, but she had never thought to delight in the cuisine after the deed.<p>

Eating after sex was almost a guarantee and, for Mindy, the better the sex, the hungrier she felt afterwards. On a less impressive occasion, she might have a cookie or skip the food altogether and have a glass of water. The better occurrences were followed with fries or something with a little grease.

Tonight, Mindy was positively starving...ravenous, even. Dinner was an absolute must.

This was part of the reason why sushi was perfect: it satisfied her immense hunger, yet it was light enough to not make her feel miserably full. It also had a lower probability of creating a mess on the deliciously comfy bed she was currently lounging in, or on her own body (and thank goodness, as she was wearing her favorite buttercup yellow bra), unlike leftover Thai food. Sushi also allowed her to maintain a respectable level of dignity. In the state of hunger she was in, she probably would have shoveled a sandwich or glass noodles in her mouth with the finesse of a cavewoman, but the slender, glossy chopsticks forced her to pace herself and eat with grace.

She assumed it was this very grace that held Danny Castellano's interest over the E! True Hollywood Story playing on the television in his bedroom. Mindy noticed him staring in her direction for the fourth time, his eel roll only half eaten in the box resting on his bare stomach. He looked uncharacteristically relaxed, with heavily-lidded eyes and a contented smile as they rested shoulder-to-shoulder. With just an additional second of thought, she factored in the possibility that his tranquility may be laced with some smugness after such a stellar performance just twenty minutes prior.

She swallowed her bit of Japanese Bagel roll and narrowed her eyes. "What are you staring at, weirdo?" Mindy asked with mock indignation.

Danny shrugged, pushing around a piece of his roll with his chopsticks. "I was just trying to remember the last time I saw you order something other than the Dynamite roll. That's usually your default."

Mindy looked at the remaining pieces of sushi proudly. "Well, I decided to go for something not fried in tempura. I'm making healthier choices, Danny! New outlook, new sushi."

Danny let out an amused snort, then nodded towards another small box at the foot of the bed. "Okay, how does that piece of tiramisu fit into this new, healthier lifestyle of yours?"

Mindy defensively nudged Danny with her shoulder. "Hey, everybody knows tiramisu is way healthier than cheesecake! Those were my only options and you can't have sushi without dessert. That's like spitting in God's face."

"I'm not sure that's such a well known fact, Min."

Mindy playfully rolled her eyes. Thanks to Danny's adorably ruffled hair and playful nature, she couldn't manage to get truthfully annoyed. "Feeling judgy, per usual, Dr. Castellano?" She dropped her box, with just two remaining pieces of her roll and a neglected heap of pickled ginger, on the stand next to her. "I should have guessed."

"Hey, hey," Danny placated as he reached across his body and grabbed her hand, yanking her fluidly onto his body. He was positively beaming. "No judgment here." He placed a quick kiss on her lips, then one at the tip of her nose. "Eat whatever you want, beautiful."

Mindy smiled, pleased with the sudden return of newly intimate contact, and shifted an inch upward so that she could settle a little closer to his face and he could rest his hands on the small of her back. She crossed her arms over his chest and rested her chin on her wrist, looking up in wonderment at the man who managed to transition so naturally from friend to lover. Her skin warmed as she felt him trace a light pattern up and down the part of his spine he could reach.

"This is so _insane_," she said reflectively, unable to shake the grin that had been present since their walk earlier that day. "If someone had told me this time yesterday that in twenty-four hours I would be lying in the arms of Danny Castellano, mostly naked and after the most incredible sex I've ever had – _seriously_, Danny, you rocked it," she added enthusiastically as she lifted her head and freed one of her hands for a high-five, which Danny returned expertly with a confident grin.

"Not so bad yourself, all-star," he replied appreciatively.

Mindy returned to her original position with her chin on her wrist. "Anyway," she continued with a light giggle. "If someone dared to tell me that I would be here like this, with you…I don't know, I'd probably assume that they were sick with dysentery or something. It's all just so crazy and yet, not that crazy at all, you know?"

Danny began toying with a strand of Mindy's hair, which seemed to put him a bit of a trance. The corner of his mouth remained upturned in a lopsided smirk. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"How are we gonna tell the office?" Mindy suddenly wondered.

Danny shrugged. "Is Rihanna's publicist available?"

"Ha ha," Mindy guffawed sarcastically. She then perked up with the arrival of a passing thought. "Although, I do kind of wish we had a professional in our roster that was solely responsible for these kinds of social announcements."

"That's excessive," Danny replied immediately, though he didn't look particularly bothered. "And I don't think any major announcement is going to be necessary, babe. Everyone'll figure it out the moment they see the way I look at you. I may not need to broadcast that I'm a man in love, but I don't plan on trying to hide it, neither."

This was the second time within four hours that Danny had managed to melt Mindy's heart with his unguarded simplicity. Unable to effectively respond, Mindy simply planted a light kiss on his chest and laid her head down.

After a bit of silence, Danny buried a hand in Mindy's hair and began to lightly scratch her scalp. "Hey," he called to her softly, "what are you thinking about?"

_This night could not be any more perfect_, Mindy thought excitedly. _Amazing sex, great food, and now Danny wants us to talk about our feelings?! Jack-freakin'-pot!_

"Can I ask you something?" she asked just above a whisper.

"Always."

Mindy bit the corner of her lip reflectively. "You said earlier that you knew exactly how far you wanted us to go," she recounted, lifting herself up just enough for them to be eye level with each other. "So tell me: how far is that, exactly?"

Danny instantly squeezed his eyes shut, then gave a strained sigh as he untangled his hand from her hair and gently grasped her upper arm. "C'mon, Mindy, you really don't want to talk about that right now. We've only been together for a few hours!"

"So?!" Mindy challenged with a raise of her eyebrow. "It's not like we're strangers, Danny. And I really want to know! Okay, look." She pushed herself up into a sitting position, straddling his hips. Danny matched her by sitting up further against his headboard, resting his fingertips lightly on the side of her thighs. She tried not to get sidetracked by Danny's insistence on touching her in some fashion; the desire to probe his mind (currently) outweighed the desire to engage in another spirited romp. "I don't want us to withhold anything from each other. I think we've done enough of that. I _love_ how honest we can be with one another and I don't want that to suddenly stop just because our situation has changed. I mean, I know thing are going to ultimately change between us, but I don't want _that_ to be one of those things, you know?"

Danny considered what she was saying for a moment, but remained hesitant. "It's not that I want to hold back from you or anything, it's just…I've wanted this for a long time, Mindy," he professed with a gentle squeeze of her thigh. "I don't want to potentially mess things up by putting a weird cloud of expectation over us, okay? I don't want either of us to feel pressured before we get the chance to just enjoy being together, _finally_. And if the past couple hours are _any_ indication of what's to come," he slowly ran his hands up her thighs to her bare hips, tracing maddening patterns on her skin, "then we have the potential to enjoy ourselves a lot. **A lot**, Mindy!"

A testament to her strengthening willpower, Mindy stilled his motions with a determined, yet comforting smile. "Oh, don't I know it, babe! Still, I want to know what's going on in that head of yours. If you're worried about scaring me away, please don't. Ooh! I have idea!" Excitedly, she gallantly gestured to draw attention to the entire bed. "This, my love, is the Bed of Immunity," she declared proudly. "That means that whatever is said on this bed tonight cannot bear any negative ramifications on our relationship. We can't get mad or freaked out by what the other person says. Let's use this space to let it all out."

"That's completely unrealistic!" Danny cried incredulously, crossing his arms over his chest. "There is no way for the things we say to suddenly not have consequences, Mindy, that's an irresponsible way of thinking!"

"Normally, it might be irresponsible, but not tonight!" Mindy pushed.

"Okay, so if I said that, in the future, I eventually want to lock you up in my basement and torture your brains out, that's not going to 'bear negative ramifications on our relationship?'" Danny challenged knowingly.

Mindy narrowed her eyes. "Okay, first of all, you don't have a basement. Secondly, obviously, if I have to worry about my safety here, then that's a whole different discussion, but c'mon, I'm serious! I just…" She trailed off while looking off to the side, debating just how open she wanted to be. A part of her sympathized with Danny's apprehension; she, too, did not want to burden their brand new relationship with anything potentially terrifying. At the same time, with everything they've shared with each other over the course of the afternoon and evening, she simply wanted to share everything, propriety be damned. She returned her attention to her partner, certain that she looked desperate, but beyond the point of caring. "I cannot express to you just how happy it makes me that you can be so vulnerable with me. You're typically so tough and hold your cards so damn tightly to your chest. I know how much of a privilege it is to be privy to your innermost thoughts and I just want us to have that complete transparency with each other for tonight, even if it's _just_ for tonight…though I really hope that it's not."

Danny's stance visibly softened with her honesty. She tenderly framed his face with her hands, her thumbs grazing his cheeks. "Danny, I love you. I'm addicted to the bond we share. You can tell me anything, and I mean that. Plus, I've seen you in a drunken heap on your office floor in your tighty-whiteys, so I think it's pretty hard to scare me away at this point." Her eyes glinted mischievously and she was pleased to see a mortified smile grace his face at the mention of one of his less dignified moments. He returned his hands to her hips, then turned his head to kiss the inside of her left palm.

"Immunity?" he asked cautiously.

Mindy nodded. "Complete immunity. Just tell me what your ideal image of us is in this perfect future of ours."

Danny tilted his head thoughtfully, then gave a small grin as he tightening his hold on her. "We're arguing over a gingerbread sculpture."

Taken completely by surprise, Mindy shot straight up with wide eyes. "We're _fighting_?!" she cried. "In your perfect image of us, we're _fighting_ over a gingerbread house?!"

"**Sculpture**," he corrected loudly. "And I thought this was supposed to be a safe space, Mindy! You told me to be transparent!"

Mindy breathed, then dialed back her outrage. "I did, babe, I just thought that _maybe_…" She rushed to think while tucking her hair behind her ears. "So, we're not, like, skipping through a meadow or dancing in the moonlight? Sharing a picnic in the park, perhaps, or making love to a swelling symphony? **Something**?"

Danny grimaced at her suggestions. "I mean, we _could_ be doing all of that, sure, but that wouldn't be **us**. Shouldn't our perfect image be reflective of _us_?"

With each mention of the word "us" Mindy felt her heart flutter. He was right, their ideal moment should be indicative of them: two stubborn, passionate people who constantly complimented and challenged each other. So what if it didn't mirror some trite depiction of romance? She wanted to hear more.

"Okay. You're right, it should be organically us. So we're fighting over a gingerbread _sculpture,_" she carefully emphasized. "Where are we, at the practice?"

"No, we're in our home," Danny admitted with an ease that took her breath away. He maintained wistful eye contact with her. "And it's the night before Christmas Eve. And I wouldn't call it a 'fight,' per say, but more of an 'affectionate debate.' See, we began this tradition where we surprise the kids every Christmas Eve morning with its unveiling. This year we recreated St. Paul's Cathedral, but you are _insisting_ on using this new edible glitter that you found, which I find to be totally out of place...superfluous…"

Mindy could not be roped into the usual debate regarding the validity of glitter. She was too touched by Danny's dream of cultivating an entire life with her, complete with a home and multiple children. She was even too stunned to cry, though she could feel her emotions for the man in front of her running rampant.

"Danny," she finally breathed. "Kids? I, uh – whuh-" she shook her head and tried to reign in her stuttering. All she could get out was "how many?"

"Two. Well," Danny recanted with a little more consideration. "Three, if you count the one you're carrying." At Mindy's astonished expression, Danny raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I tried to stop at two, but what can I say?! We got a little carried away!" The self-satisfied smirk on his face led her to believe that he wasn't remorseful at all (not that she felt he had a reason to be).

"Danny!" she squealed as she giggled infectiously. "I don't know what to say!"

"That has to be a first," Danny joked, then immediately planted a kiss at the corner of her mouth. When he pulled back, he was a little more serious while maintaining a hint of his mirth. "Mindy, what I like most about all of this is that in this future, we don't argue about whether I emotionally support you enough or if we love or respect each other enough. All of that is already well-established…which means that we can argue about more important things, like gingerbread houses, or whose macaroni and cheese the kids enjoy more –"

"Or who snores the loudest," Mindy added quietly, audibly choked up. She didn't expect to see his vision as clearly as she did, but knew if she closed her eyes, she could touch their little girl's curly hair, or smell their son after he's played in the heat for hours. It was all so tangible, and it overwhelmed her senses in the best way.

"Or who snores the loudest," Danny agreed thoughtfully. He looked down at their overlapping hips, appearing to regain control over his own emotions. "So, that's it. That's what I want. I don't want you to think that me telling you all this means that I want all to happen next week. I want to experience _everything_ with you, baby. Our first formal date, first couple's fight, the first time you leave your pajamas at my place, meeting your folks…I want to go through all of that. I'm also really excited to get to know you on a much deeper level. If marriage and kids and a house in the outskirts of the city arrive a little sooner than tradition calls for, then I'm cool with that. If it's ions from now, that's fine, too." He pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her lovingly, allowing time to breath each other in as his lips slowly massaged hers. He pulled back far enough to graze her nose with his own. "I'm in no rush. Just know that I want a 'someday' with you and only you. Okay?"

Mindy nodded and attacked his lips while leaning forward so that they were lying down once again. Listening to him love her so deeply made her want to reconnect with him in the only way that she knew for certain could surpass their current level of intimacy. Danny seemed eager for the same thing, nibbling at her bottom lip while running his hands over the back of her thighs before allowing them to travel all the way up to her shoulder blades and the nape of her neck. They kissed hungrily for a moment, then, despite his fervor, Danny pulled back and tried to catch her eyes. "Min, your turn. What's your ideal image of our future?"

Undeterred, Mindy peppered kissed along his jaw line while asking, "Immunity still stands?"

Danny gave a low chuckle as he reveled in her kisses. "We're playing by your rules right now, sweetheart. Mmmm," he hummed involuntarily just as she began nibbling on his ear. "Mindy, that's fantastic, but focus for a second."

Mindy pulled back just a couple inches from his ear before replying. "Easy: you'd be the next Dr. Oz – only much more handsome, obviously – and I'd be Dr. Mindy Lahiri-Castellano, the newest housewife on the Real Housewives of Manhattan."

This time Danny laughed jovially as he swiftly flipped them over, pinning her to the bed. "That's insane." He placed a searing, yet brief kiss on her lips.

"We'd be a power couple in the medicine _and_ celebrity worlds, Danny!"

"Whatever you want, Min," he sighed contentedly against her lips. Mindy pulled back, wanting to assure him of one final thing before she allowed herself to get fully swept away.

"I can't wait, you know," she confessed dreamily. "I mean, I _can_ wait, and I will do so gladly, but…I can't wait, Danny."

He rewarded her with a brilliant smile, one that he reserved just for her.

Just before Danny reached the clasp of her bra, Mindy hoped that the tiramisu would satisfy the insatiable hunger that she was certain would come.

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><p><strong>AN: I truly hope you enjoyed this piece. After posting the two preceding fics I would be left with this unfinished feeling. This finally feels like the cap that their story needed. I'm happy to share it and I hope you truly like it.**

**As always, please feel free to leave a review...and THANK YOU SO MUCH to those who reviewed The Walk. You all have been incredibly sweet and I appreciate you all so much. And for those following and favoriting me and/or my work, THANK YOU, TOO! I wish there was a less obnoxious way of expressing my gratitude, but all caps is apparently the only method I can come up with.**

**Okay, I hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the winter finale!**

**Hollaatchyagirl,**

**Phunky**


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